RUSSIAN SHEEP FLOCKS

Shannon News, 7 June 1927, Page 4

RUSSIAN SHEEP FLOCKS

The National Wool Grower U.S.A., reports that Mr Max A. Deitch, viceprusident of the 'All-Union Sheep Kaisers' Corporation, Moscow, recently arrived in the United States for the purpose of making arrangements for large purchases of breeding sheep. Mr Deitch had just previously visited Germany with a similar object in view The Ail-Union Sheep Raisers' Corporation is the firm that has been buying extensively in America the last two years, and will continue to do so In future. It owns seventeen farms, with 459,000 acres and i. 25,000 sheep, but is planning to increase its holding to 1,209,000 acres with 304,000 sheep within a year. It buys not only for itself but also for the Sel&Jcosojus (Union of Agriculture Co-oper-atives) and certain peasant associations. According to Mr Deitch there are at present about 120 000.000 coarse wool sheep in the Soviet Union, mo..fly in peasants* small flocks. Fine wool sheep, principally merino, number but some 400,000, which necessitated the purchase of £6,000,000 worth of fine wools abroad last year. The object of the company is to breed up fine wool flocks so as to obviate oversea purchases, and it plans to provide for the annual purchase of an average of 3000 rams and 15,000 ewes for the next ten years. These rams and ewes are to be crossed with the indigenous coarss wool typos.